Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation
The Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation is a private foundation based in The Woodlands, Texas. In its 2025 filing, it reported giving $98,000 through 13 grants to charitable organizations, including organizations working in education, human services, health care, animal rescue, and religious support.
Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation at a glance
In short: Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation gave $98K across 13 grants in 2025 (avg $8K), top state Texas. 8% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $98,000
- -6.2% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 13
- +8.3% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $7,538
- -13.4% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $5,000
- Total assets
- $2,066,645
- -3.7% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 8% first-time grantees (1 of 13, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Texas (42% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: PO Box 7835, The Woodlands, TX 77387
Phone: (281) 419-5716
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Love Must Act ($30K). Together the top 10 received $91K.
Organizations only. It also paid 1 grant to individuals ($5,000), which are not listed by name.
Grant Size Distribution
59 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 59 grants of 59 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation’s 2025 grants went to recipients in Texas (42% of grant dollars), New York (31%), Wisconsin (15%), Tennessee (11%), and Pennsylvania (1%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 13 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation open to new grantees?
8%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 1 of 13 grantees (8%) were first-time recipients. With only 13 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 8 points. First grants averaged $5K; repeat grants $8K. How we count
Medians: $5K first-time, $5K repeat.
- 85% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−2%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 117% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $98K (2025) to $125K (2021). In 2025 it made 13 grants totaling $98K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Love Must Act New York, NY | Build schools | $30,000 |
| Door County Med Center Foundation Sturgeon Bay, WI | Assist the hospital to provide quality care for all residents and visitors of Door County. | $15,000 |
| My Life Speaks Nashville, TN | Human needs assistance | $10,000 |
| Baylor University Waco, TX | Scholarships | $10,000 |
| Salvation Army Houston, TX | Human needs assistance | $5,000 |
| God's Garage Conroe, TX | Vehicle repairs for those in need | $5,000 |
| Brownsville Society for Crippled Ch Brownsville, TX | Rehabilitative services to children with special needs | $5,000 |
| Operation Pets Alive The Woodlands, TX | Animal Rescue | $5,000 |
| 1 grant to individuals Recipients not named | — | $5,000 |
| The Woodlands First The Woodlands, TX | Religious Support | $5,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $2,066,645 | $50,125 | $129,704 | $98,000 | 13 | $129,704 | $34,887 | $110,527 |
| 2024 | $2,146,224 | $627,426 | $130,100 | $104,500 | 12 | $130,100 | $571,826 | $105,677 |
| 2023 | $1,648,898 | $46,709 | $132,089 | $109,500 | 13 | $132,089 | $48,914 | $101,486 |
| 2022 | $1,734,278 | $71,486 | $124,414 | $100,500 | 11 | $124,414 | $39,633 | $104,572 |
| 2021 | $1,787,206 | $159,627 | $149,005 | $125,000 | 10 | $149,005 | $105,622 | $113,038 |
| 2020 | $1,776,584 | $44,068 | $127,996 | $106,000 | 10 | — | $42,855 | $98,885 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $111K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of activities. For example, Baylor University describes its mission as educating students for worldwide leadership and service by integrating academic excellence and Christian commitment. An individual recipient says it provides specialized medical and surgical services free of charge where access to specialized care is lacking. Gods Garage says it provides vehicles and vehicle repairs to people including single mothers, widows, spouses of deployed military personnel, and other low-income families and individuals. Operation Pets Alive says it works to decrease the euthanasia rate of dogs and cats in Montgomery County, Texas.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation gave $98,000 across 13 grants. Grant amounts ranged from $1,000 to $30,000, with a median grant of $5,000. Notable grants included $30,000 to Love Must Act for building schools; $15,000 to Door County Med Center Foundation to assist the hospital in providing quality care; and $10,000 each to My Life Speaks for human needs assistance and Baylor University for scholarships. Other grants included $5,000 to Gods Garage for vehicle repairs for people in need, $5,000 to Operation Pets Alive for animal rescue, and $5,000 to an individual recipient to provide medical care in countries lacking access to quality care.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Martin L Shields, Arlyn C Shields, Tara S Bryant, and Travis C Shields as directors.
Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation's 2025 filing lists 4 officers; none of the 4 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Arlyn C Shields
Director
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Martin L Shields
Director
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Tara S Bryant
Director
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Travis C Shields
Director
On filings since 2020
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Frequently asked questions about Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation
How much does Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation give each year?
Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation gave $98K across 13 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $105K across 12 grants.
What is Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation's typical grant size?
Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $5,000, and its average grant was $7,538, across 13 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation that year got $5K on average.
Where does Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation give grants?
Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation's top state is Texas, with 42% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were New York (31%) and Wisconsin (15%). The most frequent recipient cities were The Woodlands, TX (2 grants) and Houston, TX (2 grants).
Does Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 13 grants with a stated purpose on Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support.
Who are Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation's largest grantees?
Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Love Must Act ($30,000), Door County Med Center Foundation ($15,000) and My Life Speaks ($10,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It also paid 1 grant to individuals ($5,000), which are not listed by name. Together they received 56% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation?
Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation reported $2.1M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $130K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $111K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants show support for a range of activities. For example, Baylor University describes its mission as educating students for worldwide leadership and service by integrating academic excellence and Christian commitment. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation?
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation's EIN?
Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 45-3199581. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?
No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS June 9, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 13, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 11, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 9, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS May 14, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 1, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 10, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/martin-and-arlyn-shields-family-foundation-morg_ebeced0ab6d4415d9a2b28dd36918964
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_453199581_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Martin \& Arlyn Shields Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/martin-and-arlyn-shields-family-foundation-morg_ebeced0ab6d4415d9a2b28dd36918964},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-10. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Martin & Arlyn Shields Family Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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